Race of the couples!
by Eagleblade
Summary: Makarov decides to do some . . . matchmaking . . . 'nuff said. Natsu x Lucy, Erza x Jellal, Gajeel x Levy, Freed x Mirajane, Gray x Juvia, Bisca x Alzack, and . . . drumroll please . . . Happy x Carla! Please review with suggestions for couples or just suggestions.
1. Matchmaking

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail; all rights go to Hiro Mashima. :(

* * *

A/N: Jellal's in Fairy Tail now, 'nuff said.

* * *

Makarov was wondering what his guild was becoming. He needed new wizards - not just any wizards, but offspring of his own wizards - in other words, grandchildren. Oh, he knew that they were developing feelings for each other - they were just too shy to show it. He made a list of possible couples.

_Bisca & Alzack - _he had contemplated this, and, although they already have a child, decided that their relationship could use some brushing up.

_Evergreen x Elfman _

_Freed x Mirajane_

_Gajeel x Levy_

_Natsu x Lucy_

_Gray x Juvia _

_Erza x Jellal _

He seemed to be missing something. Hmm. Oh yeah!

_Happy x Carla - _hey, Exceeds could have fun, too!

Wasn't he a genius? Makarov looked proudly at his work. He decided to make them race in a maze - an indestructible one, mind you - and to ask a certain friend of his - not Freed - to put up some runes.

* * *

I swear this is the shortest chapter in the story. And, if you have any more good couple ideas, or even just ideas for the story, please review with your suggestions!


	2. The Big Announcement

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima :(

* * *

"Listen up, you brats," Makarov called to the guild. He decided not to lie, but not to tell the entire truth either. "I decided to put some excitement into Fairy Tail. We're going to have a race through a maze with," he quickly counted the number of future couples on his list, "eight teams of two each."

Just as excitement began to run through the guild, Makarov held up a hand. "I've already chosen these teams - there will be no switching, trading, complaints, or anything of the sort, got it?" Makarov demanded.

"Yes, Master," they mumbled back.

"Alright. I've chosen these people for the compassion they've shown," _to each other_, Makarov added silently, "their ability to work together as a team, and their cooperation."

Everyone knew Bisca and Alzack were a slam dunk, but what about the seven other couples?

"Listen up, the teams are: Bisca and Alzack!" The couple cheered.

"Evergreen and Elfman!" Evergreen tried to blanch but only blushed, and Elfman said something about how only _real_ men are chosen.

"Freed and Mirajane!" Mirajane smiled happily and waved from her position behind the counter, while Freed tried to hide the roses that were beginning to bloom in his cheeks.

"Gajeel and Levy!" Gajeel grunted impassively, and Levy smiled shyly as Jet and Droy blanched.

"Natsu and Lucy!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air and Lucy spit out her drink and tried to hide her reddening face behind her napkin.

"Gray and Juvia!" Gray shrugged and started stripping, and, need I say it, Juvia looked like she was in heaven and fainted.

"Erza and Jellal!" The two refused to look at each other for the rest of the day and kept their heads down to hide their blush.

"And . . ." Makarov paused for effect, "Happy and Carla." Happy's eyes were shining and he asked Natsu to catch him while Carla harrumphed.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know, too much blushing, but isn't that how they'd react. Please review with your comments!


	3. Preparation

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima :(

* * *

The chosen teams were nervously assembled before Master Makarov the following morning. Well, at least some of them were.

"Right then," Makarov said, "follow me."

He led them to a large building that they've never noticed before and led them inside. "Each of your teams is going to have an appointment scheduled with Hikaru!" She had brown eyes, short brown hair, brown flats, a brown skirt, and a brown blouse. Her skin must be the only thing that wasn't a shade of brown!

"Hello," she greeted them. "Alright, Bisca and Alzack, you're up first." As the couple was led inside her office, she chatted away happily.

"Okay, we're going to need you to make up a symbol of your team. What will it be?"

It wasn't long before Bisca and Alzack decided to have two guns crossed together as their symbol.

"What form will it take?"

Alzack shrugged. Bisca said, "A badge." Hikaru nodded contentedly and told them they were done for today.

* * *

"Evergreen and Elfman," Hikaru called out. Evergreen was still getting used to the idea that her partner was Elfman.

"So, what will your symbol for your team be?" Hikaru asked.

"It has to be manly!" Elfman burst out.

Evergreen scowled. "No, it has to show _my_ beauty!"

The two were bickering back and forth and Hikaru was getting exceedingly nervous. "Um, what about a, er, sash, yes, with a design of entertwined E's?" Hikaru suggested.

Elfman nodded his assent. "Sashes are manly!"

"They will compliment my beauty!" Evergreen agreed.

And so it was.

* * *

Next were Freed and Mirajane.

"Bisca told us what we were going to do," Mirajane said, "so we already have an idea!"

"What is it?" Hikaru asked politely.

"We were going to have a belt," Freed explained, "and the strap has design like what happens when you run into an enchantment, and a buckle like devil wings."

"I like it," Hikaru commented, impressed.

They shrugged modestly and found that they were liking each other more and more by the minute.

* * *

"Gajeel and Levy?"

The minute she saw them, Hikaru knew it would be a bit hard for them to agree on a symbol, with Gajeel being the bad-boy type and Levy such a bookworm.

But she needn't have worried because they, like Freed and Mirajane, have already figured things out.

"We'd like a metal dragon that coils up our left arm, please," Levy said politely. Gajeel opened his mouth, but Levy shushed him because he still hasn't developed manners yet.

Hikaru nodded. They actually interacted and cooperated pretty well together.

* * *

Natsu and Lucy were up next. They didn't know how fire and keys related to each other!

Hikaru had an idea. "What about a headdress?" Natsu looked confused, but, then again, when it came to planning, when didn't he look confused.

But Lucy was catching on. "The design could be like an average silver key, but, instead of a spirit's certain symbol where it's supposed to be, we could have a flame."

Natsu shrugged and grinned. "Sure!"

Hikaru wrote that down as she had all the other ideas.

* * *

Juvia's eyes were in the shapes of hearts as she walked with Gray into Hikaru's office.

"Any ideas?" Hikaru asked the two.

Gray shrugged. "It better not be clothes," he joked.

"All right. You guys can have a chain with a pendant, with Juvia's chain being more feminine and Gray's chain being more masculine, but the pendant will be exactly the same. You guys can wear it on top of your current necklaces. The pendant's going to be a clear orb with an ice crystal in the middle and half-filled of water, all right?"

The two nodded - or, Gray nodded and Juvia just did whatever he did.

* * *

Erza and Jellal didn't look at each other as they walked inside.

"Oh, come on," Hikaru teased them lightly. "You won't win any races like that."

They shuffled closer and began to look at each other.

"It should be something scarlet, like her hair," Jellal murmured, making Erza's cheeks become a shade more pink than what they were used to. But she wasn't like that for long.

"Jellal's tattoo is pretty scarlet," Erza said. "But maybe you could alter it so it matches my hair more?"

Hariku said that yes, she could do that.

"Would it be possible for you to give me an exact replica of that tattoo in the exact same spot?"

Hariku nodded assent. Like most everyone who met her, she was more than a little intimidated by this scarlet-haired warrior.

* * *

Happy and Carla weren't called in because they already had their wings and their cat form.

Hariku came out after about half an hour and handed every team a box with their symbol in it.

"The race starts tomorrow morning," she told them, "so don't be late."

* * *

A/N: So, how do you like it?


	4. The Race Begins!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima :(

* * *

The morning was bright and warm, and the eight teams were assembled in front of an impressive maze. The maze was not made of hedges, as most teams would just cut through, but a shiny silver material that resembled metal, though Gajeel nearly broke his teeth trying to eat it. Levy tried, and failed, to suppress a giggle.

Natsu, no matter how much he tried, couldn't burn it. "What's with this darn thing?" he cried out in frustration as Gray attempted to freeze it.

There was a vein pulsing in Lucy's forehead. "That 'darn thing' wants to be left alone by a pink-haired magic power waster and a ice mage stripper!" she snapped.

Juvia glared at Lucy, muttering something about her love rival, before returning to ogling at Gray's bare chest.

Bisca and Alzack had their badges pinned to the right side of their chest, the design of two black guns crossing each other, and looked quite nice.

Evergreen and Elfman looked grand in their sashes, though Evergreen took it a bit far when she barred the path of a reporter-looking guy. She posed repeatedly and fibbed, "I have dozens of magazines begging to sponsor me, you know."

The poor guy sweat-dropped as he explained, "Erm, that's nice to know, but I really need to get to this guy's house. I need to return his camera and earpiece."

Evergreen blanched and most everyone burst out laughing. "O-of course," she stammered weakly.

Freed and Mirajane's belts were trendy and they looked very cool, both on a Mirajane's dress and on Freed's outfit. Bickslow was there to see Freed and Evergreen off, and, somehow, the green-haired wizard and attention-seeking wizard knew he would never let them live it down.

Gajeel had a metal dragon that spiraled up his left arm, enhancing his "tough guy" image. However, Levy's dragon had a more intelligent look to it, and was smaller and more slender and as delicate as Levy herself.

Natsu and Lucy wore matching headdresses. The headdresses' frame was made up of silver Celestial spirit keys, or appeared to be, and, instead of a spirits symbol, had a flame.

Gray and Juvia's pendants swirled the water around, revealing the ice crystal in the center at different angles.

Erza and Jellal were rather late because they haven't shown up yet. Their case, instead of containing objects that are worn like everyone else's, contained a magical stamp rather like the Fairy Tail one. Erza pressed it onto Jellal's tattoo to make the color match her hair, and then she pressed it onto the exact same spot on her own face, so she had a matching replica of Jellal's. The effect of the stamp was temporary, of course.

Erza also decided to pack other necessities and bait that were meant to target their opponent's weakness. And Erza would never break the rules - she had asked Master, and he had said it was okay.

So when Erza arrived, Natsu and Gray were bickering and calling each other names.

"Natsu, Gray," she said warningly. The two looked at her and freaked out. "She looks even scarier than usual," they whimpered when they saw her tattoo. When Erza threw them another glare behind her back, they pretended to get along.

Lucy and Juvia trembled although Erza was just looking around. Elfman was intimidated, saying that she was more "manly" than a woman ought to be. Even Gajeel admitted that she looked a bit . . . scary.

Anyway, Master Makarov explained the maze. "There are several enchantments inside the maze, and there's one right in the entrances." He pointed to the eight entrances, one for each team. "Once you go outside, you can't get out using the entrance. And don't try flying up, either. There are a bunch of lacrimas that will explode at the slightest touch. Okay, line up, ya brats!" They lined up in order. "Ready, set, go!"

The race had begun.


	5. The Confession

The maze was a confusing mess, though it was certainly bigger inside than what it looked like outside. There were trees that were weighed down with fruit lush grass, and, if you can find them, burbling brooks.

But enchantments were set up all over the place. Sometimes you had to battle another team, and, if you lost twice, were immediately teleported out.

* * *

Bisca and Alzack were feasting on a meal of apples and pears. They were feeling blissfully at ease, so they wandered right into an enchantment - with Gray and Juvia. They both thought Juvia was the real threat, so they both targeted her, allowing Gray to swoop in and knock them out. One more time and they were out.

Alzack thought it was Bisca's fault, while Bisca claimed it was his fault. They argued.

"If you hadn't been 'helping'," Bisca put air quotes around "helping", "me with Juvia, not that I needed help, Gray wouldn't have caught us off-guard!"

"What do you mean?" Alzack asked indignantly. "I hit her first!"

"That may be so, but you could see that I was repeatedly sniping her, while you occasionally shot her at times."

And so the bickering went on, until it got into a full-blown argument with raised voices and hand gestures, and then they refused to cooperate with each other! Of course, they didn't seem to notice that few of their bullets managed to pierce Juvia's water body.

* * *

Evergreen and Elfman stood facing off with Freed and Mirajane. Of course, it was cruel fate that Elfman was forced to contend with Mirajane and Evergreen had to hurt her own teammate of the Thunder God Tribe.

Elfman went against Mirajane while Evergreen kept Freed occupied, trying to turn him into stone while he was putting up runes. Evergreen and Freed have been around each other too long, so Freed's runes kept being rewritten and Freed didn't look at Evergreen's eyes.

Mirajane and Elfman were evenly matched - well, at least for the first five seconds. And then Mirajane was beating up Elfman, though she was holding back. Just as she was about to deal the finishing blow, Evergreen raised her arms in front of Elfman, temporarily pausing her match with Freed.

"Wait!" Evergreen cried in a last desperate attempt. "We're getting married!"

Mirajane grinned evilly. "That won't work again," she said before she swooped in and knocked them both out while they were surprised.

As they walked away, Freed murmured to Mirajane, "You know, I don't really think Ever's joking."

* * *

Gajeel and Levy managed not to get into fights. Surprisingly, they cooperated better than Bisca and Alzack because they compromised - Levy will direct in the maze, and Gajeel will dominate on the battlefield. Their compromise worked quite well.

While they were walking, Levy was beginning to get tired, though she was determined not to show it. She walked on and on until she finally collapsed a couple meters behind a still-fine Gajeel. As he hoisted the petite girl upon his back, Levy blushed and shyly apologized before falling asleep.

Gajeel felt something he'd never felt before - some sort of bond to this blue-haired bookworm. What was it? She wasn't tough; she was plain the opposite of him. Of course, he'd never heard of opposites attract, but he felt an attraction to Levy. Something like "You hurt one hair on her head and you won't live to see the next day." Well, not really that long - more like "You touch her and I'll pulverize you." Yeah, that was more like it.

Gajeel knew it was something more than just being protective, but he didn't know it was love because he'd never felt it before. His bond with his dragon was something different, more of a family love instead of this.

Gajeel shrugged, clearing his mind of all thoughts - he'll figure it out later when he had time.

* * *

Natsu and Lucy were trudging along. Lucy didn't have a lot of stamina and Natsu was whining about how he was hungry. There really was no other choice except to set up camp. Though Lucy might have been a bit vain, she cared about Natsu more than she would admit and gathered fruit and caught some fish to make a meal for him.

Natsu cared for Lucy - no, he loved her. So he arranged some moss and such to make a comfortable bed, and made sure that it wouldn't stick to Lucy - hey, he's not as dense as he appears; or is he?

Then they fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Erza and Jellal were fighting against Carla and Happy. It was really a draw, since the Exceeds could fly out of reach but not hit them. Erza and Jellal managed to land only a few hits - Erza decided it was time for desperate measures.

She requipped back into her normal armor and, instead of a sword, had a doll she painted that looked exactly like Wendy. A fish flopped around near her feet.

"Wendy!" Carla cried.

"Fish!" Happy exclaimed.

When they zoomed near Erza, she knocked them both out and won a victory for her and Jellal.

Yet Jellal didn't feel right and he let Erza know.

"Erza, don't you feel wrong about what you did?" he asked. "Baiting then hitting?"

Erza stopped what she was doing and looked him in the eyes. "Do you feel like I should stop?"

"Yes," Jellal put it plainly and simply. Had it been anyone else, Erza would have refused. But she couldn't say no to Jellal - that was just how far along their relationship was. She laid all the bait she had and told Jellal to blast them to bits, which he happily did.

After Jellal was done blasting everything to bits, he looked around for Erza and found her sitting by a tree. She looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. "I disappointed you," she whispered. "I've hit a new low - what have I done?"

Jellal was brought back to when Natsu told him how he made Erza cry. He had just did it again. How could he make her stop? She learned her lesson and that was his point. There was only one way, he knew - he kissed the top of her forehead lightly. "I love you, Erza, and I always will."

She smiled through her tears. "I love you too, Jellal," she confessed.

Then they were teleported out of the maze.


	6. The End

Erza and Jellal found themselves outside the maze.

"What?" Erza exclaimed. "We didn't lose two battles!" Then her face fell. "Is it because I baited them?"

Master Makarov shook his head. "No, no, no!" he cried. "This is a race - but not a race to see who gets out of the maze." He chuckled. "In fact, there is no way to get out!" He climbed to the top of the maze and gestured for them to come with him. "Don't worry, they don't explode from here - they're one-sided."

Then he continued to explain. "These lacrimas are one-sided - they only explode on one side and they allow the other side to look into the maze. Look down."

So Erza and Jellal did. They tried to look at where they could have gotten out, but could see none. "Master, I don't get it," Erza told Makarov.

Makarov grinned. "You get out when you confess your feelings for each other," he said. "Simple really." He looked as if he just remembered something. "Oh yeah, here's your first-place prize." He handed them each a bag of jewels. Each person got about half of what you'd get on an easy S-class mission - which was still rather a lot, though not to Erza. She was focused on something else. Jellal could sense it and tried to prolong Master Makarov's stay outside the infirmary.

"What about if you lose two battles?" he asked.

"Then your team gets into last place. If you confess and get teleported out, you get 1st, or 2nd if 1st is already taken, or 3rd if 2nd is already taken, and so on so forth. If you lose and get teleported out, you get last, or 2nd to last if last is already taken - rather like if you confess and get teleported out, but in the opposite direction," Makarov explained.

Saying Erza was angry would be an understatement - she was positively _livid_.

"So this was all a trick?" she breathed. "Master Makarov . . ."

Said Master Makarov ended up in the infirmary with minor wounds - because Erza didn't go all out on him - for twenty-four hours.

* * *

Bisca and Alzack still refused to talk to each other. In the end, it was Alzack who gave in. "Bisca, it's both our faults. Let's work out a plan so we won't make the same mistake again." Bisca grudgingly agreed.

"It won't work if we say something like you target the weak one and I'll get the stronger one, because we have different opinions on that," Alzack continued. "So what about you snipe the woman and I'll get the man?"

So they agreed. And a good thing too because they were now engaged in a battle with Evergreen and Elfman. Bisca was careful not to look in Evergreen's eyes, and she managed to dodge quite a few of her opponent's attacks while landing a few quite critical attacks.

She winced as several of Evergreen's attacks hit her. Then, knowing that the element of surprise was on her side, she ran in and landed a kick on Evergreen's shin, making the latter cringe, and then punched her in the face, officially knocking her out. Bisca panted heavily, her body full of scratches and grazes.

Alzack looked like he needed help, so she helped him, praying that this time will be different than last time when they helped. But try as she might, none of their attacks could pierce very deep into Elfman's skin, and, before long, he managed to knock Alzack out. He didn't even need to touch Bisca, as she collapsed from her lack of magical power and wounds from her fight with Evergreen.

As they were teleported out, they rationalized that at least they put up a good fight. And it wasn't for nothing, for now they know how to deal with parent arguments that were bound to occur.

* * *

Elfman picked up Evergreen, bridal-style, in his arms and trudged on. He lay her down and waited by her side until she woke up.

"She looks kind of cute when she's sleeping," Elfman said softly, then shook his head. "Those aren't manly thoughts!" he berated himself.

When at last Evergreen's eyes fluttered open, she found Elfman struggling to stay awake - by her side, as he promised. She braced herself to tell him.

"Elfman," she started.

"Yeah, Ever?" Elfman replied.

"You know when I told Freed and Mirajane that we were getting married?" Evergreen said. "Um, do you . . want to . . . actually . . . marry?"

Elfman's stomach was a turmoil of emotions, but most prominent was glee. Of course, a real man would have proposed, but oh well.

"Oh, um, sure, Ever," responded Elfman.

And then they sealed the deal; but not with a handshake. Rather, they leaned in and kissed.

They were also teleported out in a blinding flash of light.

* * *

Freed and Mirajane were battling Gajeel and Levy. Freed flew in and slashed Levy with his sword, causing the petite girl to fly back into the nearest enchantment and sink to the ground.

"Shrimp!" Gajeel shouted. He turned back to the battle at hand. "You hurt her!"

In his anger, Gajeel struck Freed on the head with his Pole of the Iron Dragon, causing the green-haired wizard to collapse. Turning to Mirajane, he yelled, "Roar of the Iron Dragon!"

It struck a startled and surprised Mirajane full on, officially knocking her out as well. Then he picked up Levy and grimly walked out of the ring.

Gajeel cradled her in his arms and waited for her to wake up. He'd finally placed the feelings he had for her. Over-protectiveness was part of it, but it was something foreign called . . . love.

He kissed her on top of her forehead gently, something that he almost never did. "Love you, Shrimp," he said gruffly.

Levy smiled. "I love you too, Gajeel."

And then they were gone.

* * *

While they were unable to move, Freed and Mirajane admitted their feelings for each other.

* * *

Natsu and Lucy vs. Carla and Happy.

Lucy called on Sagittarius to shoot them out of the sky. His aim was impeccable as always, though he was careful only to hit their wings so they can be knocked out.

Natsu decided to knock out Carla because he couldn't bear to do that with Happy, and Lucy decided to do it to Happy because Natsu wouldn't do it - and to get back from all the times he annoyed her.

"You know, we work well as a team," Lucy commented.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I love you, Lucy," Natsu burst out.

Lucy looked startled. It was all so sudden - but, then again, that was Natsu all over. "I love you too, Natsu."

Need I say that they were also transported out?

* * *

"I love you, Gray-sama," Juvia swooned for the millionth time. If the feelings hadn't needed to be mutual, Gray and Juvia would have won a long time ago.

Gray sighed. Should he admit it? Over the past few days he was also developing feelings for the water mage.

"I love you too, Juvia," he mumbled finally. Juvia's eyes glittered.

"You are serious, my dear Gray?"

"Yeah . . ."

Juvia fainted from the thrill of it all.

* * *

"She's so cute!" Happy squealed. Again, it was a matter of mutual feelings.

Mainly to make him be quiet and because she wanted him to admit it, she snapped, "Just say it already!"

"I love you Carla!" Happy said without a moment's hesitation.

Carla sighed. The blue Exceed was cute in his own way. "You too, Happy," she whispered.

Happy's reaction was so similar to Juvia's.

* * *

After Makarov explained what he explained to Jellal and Erza, he stated the places.

"First place: Jellal and Erza!" A polite round of applause ensued, though mainly because they thought if they didn't they wouldn't live to see the next day.

"Second place: Evergreen and Elfman!" Evergreen waved as if she just won a beauty pageant, and Elfman let out the news they were getting married, which was greeted with loud cheering.

"Third place: Gajeel and Levy!" Gajeel crossed his arms and smirked. Levy looked really excited.

"Fourth place: Freed and Mirajane!" Freed and Mirajane looked like they were going to collapse any minute.

"Fifth place: Natsu and Lucy!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air while Lucy jumped up and down.

"Sixth place: Gray and Juvia!" Gray looked shocked. "You mean Flame Brain beat me?"

"Seventh place: Happy and Carla!" Happy blushed while Carla looked away.

"Last place: Bisca and Alzack!" Said couple blanched while sweat-dropping at the same time.

"All right, now you brats are all couples! No arguments!"

* * *

A/N: Please read the sequel! It's called "The Games of the Couples!" Also, please review with any ideas for my sequel, which has the same pairings!


	7. Author's Note

Hello to everyone! I'm sorry to say that this is the end of this particular story, but I'm making a sequel called Tournament of the Couples! I know I said it was called the Games of the Couples, but that name kind of stinks, so I changed it. It's about how they're couples, yada yada, but Makarov is making a tournament to see who wins the BC Award - the Best Couple Award. The good thing is that there is going to be a lot more audience participation, so you can review to vote on a few matches.

Thanks again!

-Eagleblade


	8. Wedding Preparations

Evergreen and Elfman's wedding was in progress. Evergreen had to choose her bridesmaids and her flower girl.

"Bisca, Mira, Levy, Lucy, Juvia, and Erza, would you like to be my bridesmaids?" she asked, though she was flashing her glasses for emphasis.

They all nodded hurriedly, most in fear of being turned into stone.

"But, what about Lisanna?" asked Mirajane.

"Yes, yes, I will add her too. Do go along and fetch her, there's a good girl!"

"And Wendy," she turned to the younger girl, "you will be my flower girl, right?"

Wendy, ever the so sweet and caring girl, nodded and smiled. "Congratulations!"

"Great!" she said. "Now, you must come with me this afternoon to choose the dresses. The wedding is tomorrow - ta ta!"

"So soon?" Lisanna asked, astonished.

"That's Evergreen for you!" Bisca told her.

Elfman couldn't decide who was the manliest out of the men to be his best man. Alzack? No, he wasn't manly enough - Bisca had to propose to him. But, then again, that was what he did too. Maybe. Freed? No, his long hair was not a mark of manliness. But if he didn't, nee-san might kill him. Maybe. Gajeel? Ah, there was a manly man! Maybe. Natsu? Yes, manly as well, just like himself. Maybe. Gray? He strips, was that a mark of manliness? Maybe. Jellal? His tattoo was certainly manly, maybe.

He found that he deleted no one from his list, so he decided to go by Evergreen's standards. Alzack was certainly a gentleman, as well as Freed. Ever might not like Gajeel eating all her silverware; Elfman was sorry to eliminate such a man from his list. Natsu might destroy everything, so Elfman crossed his name out too. Ever thought stripping was ungentlemanly, so he deleted Gray too. Though Jellal might have been a bad person, he'd been nothing but nice - and manly!

Elfman, having run out of elimination tactics, decided to do the manliest last resort - eenie meenie who's a man?

"Eenie meenie who's a man?" Elfman chanted. His finger landed on Freed. Freed it was!

* * *

After trying on dresses for hour after hour, Evergreen came to a decision. "Just choose your own gown. What goes with green," she gestured to Bisca's hair, "clashes with red," she gestured to Erza's hair, "and so on so forth. Of course," she added, patting her own chestnut locks proudly, "my hair goes with everything!"

They sifted around for Bisca's first. After several hilarious offers, Bisca found a dress she loved. It was a fringed leather number that was tight on the top and flowier as it got to the bottom, which was about to her knees. It was a halter top with designs that proudly showed her western origin.

"Now that's a beauty!" she cried.

Bisca: check.

Mirajane's next. Levy offered a tight sequined dress, which Mirajane politely declined. Evergreen offered a monstrosity of green - no. And then Lucy held up a an absolute beauty! It was a floor-length, velvet dress that had a single petticoat and no hoops so it didn't puff out hideously. The magenta skirt was marvelously layered, and the layers were trimmed with pink ribbon. The bodice was tight with a pretty rose at the waist, and the sleeves were trimmed with the same ribbon the skirt layers were.

Mirajane: check.

Levy was such a petite girl that it was a bit hard to find dresses in her size in the adult section, so they were forced to go to the children's section. Levy was a bit glum about that, but she didn't mind so much when she saw the colorful array of dresses. Lisanna shoved a tie-dye rainbow dress under a nervous Levy's nose, which she said no to. Bisca offered a black dress to her - need I say that it was turned down. Then Wendy found a pretty gold thing that looked like something out of a dream. It was satin, went to her knees, and looked like it was spun from gold, and it was trimmed in lace with pretty lacy ribbons all over, though not enough to make it seem too much. Levy fell in love.

Levy: check.

Lucy was their next quest. She turned a pink one down and a purple one down and an orange one that made her look like a pumpkin down. Mirajane found a nice one, which she cheerfully showed to Lucy. It was a nice turquoise color with purple flowers scattered artistically on the skirt. It was strapless, and it had a violet sash around the middle. The flowers had a bit of gold glitter on them to make them sparkle slightly when the light hit them, but not too much. Lucy hugged it to her chest.

Lucy: check.

Juvia didn't want to wear anything, so she could be like her beloved Gray-sama who doesn't often wear any clothes. And then she wanted something easy to rip off, so she could strip like her beloved Gray-same. After that, she wanted something black like her beloved Gray-sama's hair. Eventually, everyone convinced Juvia that blue looked best on her. Erza ripped the first dress she could find off the hanger, and, surprisingly, Juvia loved it. It was a swishy blue floor-length gown that flowed around her like water. A bright blue ribbon emphasized her small waist.

Juvia: check.

Erza was one of the hardest because she insisted on getting armor, though, in the end, Mirajane convinced her to get a dress. She turned down a bright pink dress because of misplaced stitch, and tons of other beautiful gowns because of the tiniest fault. Eventually, Lisanna found her a gown that she couldn't find fault with. It was a stunning silk number made of a shimmering, metallic silver fabric. The floor-length skirt was trimmed with a sparkly gold ribbon around the hem of the skirt. The bodice was a matching silver with a halter-top of sparkling gold ribbon that started from a glittery gem in the middle of the chest. A wide, shiny gold sash was tied around the waist and ended in a stylishly drooping bow at the side. Erza's eyes sparkled when she saw it.

Erza: check.

Now only one more bridesmaid to go: Lisanna. She turned a tiger-print gown down from Evergreen, and a zebra-print one down from Wendy. She had to find her dream dress herself because everyone insisted one getting her a gown that emphasized her animal takeover powers. In the end, she adored a lavender dress she found. It was to her knees and the skirt was ruffled. The eggplant purple sash that tied into a perky bow at the back was around her waist. It hung off her shoulders and showed her fair skin.

Lisanna: check.

* * *

A/N: The End! Join in next chapter for Evergreen's and Wendy's dresses and the wedding! Ta ta!


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